Accessibility testing ensures digital products are usable by everyone, including individuals with disabilities. It's about creating inclusive experiences, enabling access to websites, apps, and software for people regardless of impairments—be it visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive.

Yet, accessibility testing is often overlooked during development, leading to barriers for an important segment of users.

What is Accessibility Testing?

At its core, accessibility testing evaluates whether a digital product adheres to accessibility standards, making it usable by people with disabilities. This process ensures compliance with guidelines like Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and legal frameworks like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Accessibility is not just a technical requirement—it improves usability for all users.

Here’s why accessibility testing is essential:

• Broadened Audience Reach: Approximately 1.3 billion people globally live with disabilities. By ensuring your product is accessible, you tap into a more extensive market.
• Compliance with Regulations: Accessibility testing helps avoid legal risks associated with non-compliance.
• Enhanced User Experience (UX): Accessibility improvements—like clear navigation and alt text—aren’t just for people with disabilities; they improve usability for all users.
• Accessibility testing is no longer optional. It’s a fundamental step in creating inclusive and usable digital products.

Why Accessibility Testing Matters

When digital products fail to meet accessibility standards, they exclude a considerable portion of users. For instance:

• A visually impaired individual may struggle to browse a website that’s incompatible with screen readers.
• A mobility-impaired user might find web pages difficult to interact with if buttons are too small or spacing is inadequate.
• Poor color contracts could alienate those with colorblindness.

Apart from limiting usability, inaccessible digital designs can negatively impact businesses. A non-inclusive site risks isolating customers, driving them away to competitors. Businesses also risk legal action, fines, and PR backlash.

How to Conduct Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing may seem like a daunting task but breaking it down into manageable steps makes it achievable.

1. Understand WCAG Guidelines

Begin by learning the principles of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG is organized around four core principles often abbreviated as PORN:

• Perceivable – Content should be easily perceivable by users through sight, sound, or assistive technologies.
• Operable – Users should be able to interact with and operate website functions without barriers.
• Understandable – Content and operations should be clear and straightforward to understand.
• Robust – Products should work effectively across various technologies, including assistive devices.

2. Conduct Automated Testing

Automated testing tools help identify preliminary accessibility issues like missing alt text, empty buttons, improper ARIA roles, or poor color contrast. While automation is a good starting point, it shouldn't replace manual testing.

Automated tools integrated into testing platforms like Opkey allow development teams to streamline accessibility evaluations as part of their larger quality assurance workflows.

3. Perform Manual Testing with Real Users

While automation flags obvious issues, manual testing ensures your digital product works intuitively for users with diverse needs.

Use Assistive Technologies: Test your product with screen readers (e.g., JAWS, NVDA) to simulate the experience of visually impaired users.

Keyboard Navigation: Make sure all key functionality—like form fields or navigation bars—can be operated solely using a keyboard.

Zoom Accessibility: Test how well your design scales when users enlarge elements (at least 200%).

4. Include Accessibility in Regression Testing

Regression testing plays a role in ensuring accessibility measures aren’t disrupted as your product evolves. When new features or updates are added, verify that accessibility remains intact. Automating regression testing with platforms like Opkey ensures thorough coverage efficiently.

5. Gather Feedback from Real Users

Nothing beats feedback from actual users with disabilities. Partner with advocacy organizations and accessibility consultants to conduct testing with target users to uncover overlooked challenges.

6. Create an Accessibility Compliance Roadmap

Accessibility isn’t a one-off task—it’s an ongoing process. Keep track of compliance with an actionable roadmap that ensures improvements remain iterative and consistent across updates.

How Opkey Facilitates Seamless Accessibility Testing

Manual and repetitive processes often deter businesses from prioritizing accessibility testing. This is where Opkey transforms the game with automated and intelligent features.

Key Benefits of Using Opkey:

Seamless Integration: Opkey integrates smoothly into existing QA workflows, ensuring accessibility is part of the end-to-end testing process without additional overhead.

AI-driven Analysis: Opkey leverages AI to flag critical accessibility issues like ARIA roles, malformed headings, or non-standard interaction flows.

Automation Scalability: Automate repetitive regression testing cases so you can focus on refining manual, experience-enhancing tests.

Comprehensive Accuracy: Its intelligent test scripting reduces false positives, ensuring accessibility feedback is reliable.

By integrating Opkey, your team can meet accessibility goals efficiently while focusing on user-centric design and experience.